URGENT: Tell your NM Rep: VOTE YES on SB 53

Senate Bill 53 (SB 53) will help stop the world’s largest nuclear waste dump from being opened in New Mexico. It prevents State agencies from approving permits and requires State consent. States have these rights and responsibilities.  

The legislative session ends Saturday March 18th at noon. The bill has passed the Senate and all committees in the House…It needs to be brought up on the HOUSE FLOOR and VOTED ON before the end of this session. 

If SB 53 passes the House Floor, Governor Lujan Grisham has indicated that she would sign such a bill into law.  It is important to pass this bill THIS SESSION because the proposed dump could get a license this month.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Ask your State Representative to do all they can to get SB 53 to the floor and VOTE YES on SB 53.

SB 53 text is at this link but status–going to the floor– is not updated: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?Chamber=S&LegType=B&LegNo=53&year=23

BACKGROUND provided by Leona Morgan

Summary of Opposition to Holtec’s Proposed Radioactive Waste Dump in New Mexico

• There are two proposed radioactive waste dumps for nuclear energy waste, one in Texas and one in New Mexico (NM). The Texas one was licensed, but has not started due to legal challenges. The one in NM, by Holtec, is scheduled to be licensed by the end of March 2023.
• Permitting of Holtec’s proposed facility is opposed by the State of New Mexico, the Governor, State Land Commissioner, NMED Secretary, several Counties, and most Indigenous Nations in the state.
• This “temporary” facility can be relicensed for up to 120 years total. The lack of permanent repositories for nuclear waste in the U.S. means that this facility, which is designed to be temporary, could become permanent by default.
• Train routes shipping nuclear waste carry serious risk of toxic derailment like those of recent derailment events in Ohio, 2023. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission estimates that there will be 13 “accidents of any severity” per 20-year period. The cost of nuclear accidents and other liabilities are not covered by the nuclear companies, but by taxpayer dollars. 
• The 2023 NM Senate Bill 53, if passed, will prohibit State permits for high-level radioactive waste dumps and require consent for such a facility.